Couch-bed.



C. L. PLUNKETT.

COUCH BED.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I, 191].

Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

(y J4 73 @L 2 6 73 h u t 14 v 0 I WITNESSES:

INVENTUR U/zas.L.PZun/nett ATTORNEY COLUMBIA PLANOGRAFH 60., WASHINGTON, D. c.

Q iiiurrn s ra rnis CHARLES L. PLUNKE'IT, OF BROOKLYN, N

EW YORK, AS SIGNOR TO AMERICAN COUCH COMPANY, or BROOKLYN, new YORK, A CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

coUcH-BE which the following 1s a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in couch beds, and more particularly to that class of couch beds known as shiftable or sliding couch beds made up of a pair of sections, one usually designated as the main or vstat onary section and able .or slidlng section,

the o h are hiftwhichlattfili is shiftable relatively to the main or stationary section to form a s ngle couch or to forrn a doublebed, the object of the invention being to provide an improved structure of this character which can be more readily shipped than has heretofore been poss ble couchw of this kind, while at the same time retaining. all of the advantageous features, including simplicity and rig dity of structure, in- ,expensiveness to manufacture and d1irability, heretofore present in this form of couch bed. a Heretofore these couch beds have been made with fixed or rigid legs for supports, this being made necessary by reason of the collapsing of the end frames thereof under thetension ofthe yielding mattress support or metallic fabric and the weight of the user suitable side bars secured to the legs hadto beprovided,.and

in order to prevent the end 'frames from spreading suitable tie or tension .rods secured to the legs below the side bars had also to be provided vin a mannersimilarto thatshowri in the Luppino Patent No.

898,981, inwhich the side bars are designated as 10 and the tension rods orstrips as 12. Byreas on of thelocation these tension rods it was therefore impracticable to construct the bed sections so'that the legs could fold, in consequence ofwhich the couch bed had to be ship ped as double firstclass freight.

No way was perceived heretofore vof avoiding this difliculty' while at leg or support. may

@0 partly in section,

' corresponding parts I tion, although this forming the bed. is

Patented A11 3, 1915.

Application filed 5 5m 1, 1911; serial no. 618,2 8.

the same time using, as was necessary, the

tension strips or rods. Y r

In the present improvement, however, while the tension strip or rod is retained it is so located that one portion or half of each i be folded, in consequence of which it is now possible to ship the structure as second class. freight, thus very considerably reducing the expense of shipment, which is a very material factor in the manufacture of this classof goods.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of this improved couch bed with the sections assembled to form a double bed; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the sections detachedfrom its companion section and illustrating it as an independent of one portion of one of f is a. deta l vlew of a the sections; and Fig. I

the leg relatively modified form of'bracing to the main frame. v J v Similar characters of reference indicate throughout the drawins sthe preferred form thereof herein shown described thislimprov'ed couch bed comprises a pair of bed sections, one

usually designated as the main or stationary section, as 2, and the other asthe shifta'ble, movable or sliding section, as 3. In the pr se times th .r l il QC Q s e s m l'ed wi h h ma n e t i i .s i hai jn'er t a they e dinsma tress Supp r mg means, shown in the form of stretched metallic fabric' i, slides between a side bar 5 and the metallic fabric] ,6 .dflthe mainsecarrangement could be As e c fth ec io reversed if desired. I I

formed in substantially the same manner, although the sliding sec t me c l be P O id W thtWO lees o y, p e ded s u a le Suppo is ed f supporting the inner side thereof on the main section, a desorption of one of these sections will efficient for the present Each section, therefore, compurposes.

h bed; Fig. 3 is an enlargeddetail view,

prises in the present instance a pair of end frames 7 and 8, shown in the present instance as made of angle iron, each end frame being bent to form a pair of legs 9 and 10 and each of the legs being formed as a twopart leg, the lower part being pivotally concarries or supports a suitable yielding mattress support, shown in the present instance as a metallic fabric such as 4: or'6 stretched between the end frames and connected thereto in the usual manner. Connecting the up per portions orhalves of the legs at each side of the section is a side bar 12, shown as of angle iron formation, which side bar is suitably braced from the end frames by diagonal braces 13a Each pivoted portion of a leg is connected in the form shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 bytoggle links 14 with the side bars, whereby when the legs are in their upright position the links will be in a dead center position so thatthe possibility of the legs buckling or. foldingwhen the toggle links are in such dead center position is prevented.

The'side bars, as hereinbefore stated, pre- 7 vent the metallic fabric from drawing the end frames toward each other, this metallic I adjacent to the diagonal braces 13 and supv fabric being stretched under a good many hundreds of pounds tension, the pull on which end frames is also materially increased by the weight of the user. These side bars,

however, are not in themselves suflicient, as has been found in practice, to prevent the end frames from spreading apart and causingthe bars when made of angle iron to buckle, and therefore it is necessary to use tension rods or strips to accomplish this.

But, as will be immediately apparent, .it is not possible to connect the tension stri s as heretofore to the hinged portions 0 the legs or supports, and this has been a serious drawback in the making of structures of this kind as no way heretofore has been perceived of overcoming this serious difliculty. The tension rods or strips 15 in the present instance are shown as in the form of a truss, each being riveted at its ends to the side bars 2 ported substantially midway thereof by a depending truss member-or bar 16riveted to the tension strip and to the sidebar, and which truss prevents the buckling of the side bars and so prevents the. spreading of the end frames.

In theform shown in Fig. 4 the legs are formed in the same manner as shown in Figs. 1, 2 .and 3, but instead of using toggle links a curved brace 20 is provided, pivotally connected to the hinged portion of the leg and having at its upper end a notch 21 adapted to catch over a pin or projection 22 carried by the side bar. this brace the pivoted portion of the leg may the user of the structure may store it away in a much less. space than has heretoforebeen possible.

The present improvement in no way interferes with the separationof the bed sections whereby the same may be used as separate beds in thesame or different rooms as occasion may require, orthe separation of the bed sections .for the purpose of enabling them to be shipped separately if for any reason this should be desired, although in practice the couch bed is shipped as an assembled structure.

I claim as my invention: V V

1. In an angle iron formed couch bed, the combination of a pair of angle iron. end frames eachincluding a pair 'of'depending rigid leg: portions and a pair of foldable leg portions foldable inwardly lengthwise of the structure, a spring "fabric stretched between eachpair of end frames, side-bars connected to the rigid depending leg portions above the folding end portions, tensioning means for the end frames and comprising a trussformed strip shorter than and connected to each side-bar whereby the ends of said trussformed strip arespaced inwardly from the By releasing v be folded in a similar manner to the strucbaradja'cent to the outer spaced end of each truss-formed strip and also connected to a foldingleg portion for maintaining the legs in perpendicular position and manually V shiftable to permit the legs to be folded;

2. Inan angle iron formed couch bed, the.

combination of a pair of sections one slid ing relatively to the other and each comprising'a pair of angle iron end frames each including a pair of rigid depending leg por tions and a pair of foldableleg portions foldable inwardly lengthwise of the structure, a spring fabric stretched betweeneach pair of end frames, side bars connected to the rigid depending leg portions above the folding leg portions, tensioning means for each pair of end frames and comprising. a truss-formed strip shorter than and connected to each side-bar whereby the ends of said truss-formed strip are spaced inwardly from the end frames, a brace membercon-* nected to each endframe and extending in- Wardly and connected with each side-bar adjacent to each end of the truss-formed strip, and shiftable bracing means also spaced inwardly at its upper end from each end frame and connected to each side-bar adjacent to the outer spaced end of each truss-formed strip and also connected to a folding leg portion for maintaining the legs in perpendicular position and manually shiftable to permit the legs to be folded.

Signed at 1821 Park Row Building New York, N. Y., this 29th day of March, 1911.

CHARLES L. PLUNKETT. Witnesses:

F. E. BOYCE, GEORGE F. PUROELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). 0." 

